A housing of a printer, that performs printing on a belt-shaped paper medium drawn from one end of a roll of paper, includes a box-shaped drawer unit. A hopper is fixed inside of the drawer unit to provide support to the roll of paper so that the roll of paper can rotate.
The following problems can arise if the roll of paper is set in the hopper in such a way that the lower end of the roll of paper comes into contact with the lower surface of the drawer unit or hopper. Friction can occur between the lower end of the roll of a paper and the lower surface of the drawer unit if the roll rubs against an adjacent surface during unrolling of the paper therefrom. This friction generates heat, which can be sufficient to discolor or blacken the heat sensitive paper on the roll. Additionally, scratches can occur on the paper due to the rubbing of the paper against adjacent surfaces when the paper roll is rotated to pull a sheet. That is to say, if the roll of a paper is set in such a way that the lower end of the roll of paper comes into contact with the lower surface of the drawer unit, it becomes difficult to effectively maintain the quality of the roll of paper.
To effectively maintain the quality of the roll of paper in the conventional printer, the roll of paper is set in such a way that the lower end of the roll of paper lies in the upper portion of the drawer unit so as to separate the lowermost surface of the roll of paper from the lower surface of the drawer unit. That is to say, in the conventional printer, the hopper is set in such a way that the lower end of the roll of paper lies in a location that is elevated off the lower surface of the drawer unit.
However, in a conventional printer, a problem can arise if a roll of a paper with a large diameter is placed in the hopper and the roll protrudes above the drawer unit or into the upper portions of the drawer unit, because the roll of paper may interfere with structural portion of the housing as the drawer unit is being closed. As a result, in a conventional printer, the roll of paper capable of fitting without causing interference upon closing has a small diameter and thus is quickly consumed, necessitating frequent replacement of the roll.